Vettel told he will get ‘very strong’ punishment if he reoffends

Sebastian Vettel has been told he faces “very strong” punishment if he commits an offence similar to his collision with Lewis Hamilton in Azerbaijan.

Vettel was given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty in the race in Baku for deliberately driving into Hamilton.

Governing body the FIA decided at a hearing on Monday not to take more action against the Ferrari driver.

“I would have been uncomfortable to go further than what has been done,” said FIA president Jean Todt.

“I would be very comfortable to be very strong if it happens again. He knows that.”

Todt did not specify what he meant by a “very strong” punishment, but it can only mean a disqualification from at least one race. Todt, who was talking to BBC Radio 5 live, said: “Clearly I wish that he would have been able to control himself better.”

Vettel was also put on a warning after last year’s Mexican Grand Prix, when he swore over the radio at FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting because was unhappy about a lack of action over the driving of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Todt said: “People say he had already a warning after Mexico. This is true, but it was a completely different matter. He lost control and was insulting one of the stewards. It was a different category.

“So on the first category he has no more joker, on the second category he has no more joker.” Vettel has apologised publicly for the incident, and also for falsely accusing Hamilton of brake-testing him.

It was Vettel’s belief that had caused him to run into the back of Hamilton, provoking his anger and leading to him then banging wheels with the Mercedes.

Hamilton has said Vettel did not apologise in their first conversation about the incident on the day after the Baku race, but that the following day he did so when they exchanged text messages. Todt said he called the meeting on Monday to ensure Vettel understood Hamilton had not been responsible for the incident in any way and to acknowledge the German was the one who carried the responsibility for it. “I felt it was very bad for the sport and very bad for the image of the sport and for the fans, because when you are a champion at this level you must be an example,” Todt said.